A proposal to create a merchant airport at Karaikal in Puducherry has been cleared by the Union Civil Aviation Ministry and the Puducherry administration.
Talking about the project to The Hindu , J.V. Chowdhury, Chairman of Karaikal Airport Private Limited, said a merchant airport was basically a 100 per cent private airport. Under this concept, there would not be any participation either by the local government or by the Airports Authority of India. The airport would be built by private companies for the use of the public, he said.
The proposal was mooted by Super Airport, a Coimbatore-based company, which conducted a feasibility study for creating an airport at Karaikal. The company then submitted its application to the Puducherry administration in 2007. In June this year, the Puducherry administration issued a no-objection certificate. In the same month, the Union Civil Aviation Ministry had issued a Site Clearance letter to the company, Mr. Chowdhury said.
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The Karaikal district administration had identified around 600 acres of land in revenue villages falling under Nedungadu and Kottucherry. Mr. Chowdhury said the new airport would come up on a 550-acre land with a 3-km-long runway. As per the plan, the capacity of the terminal building would be 1,400 passengers during peak hour in both arrival and departures, he said.
The cost of the project would be Rs.250 crore and once the licence is issued to the company, work would be completed within 18 months, Mr. Chowdhury added.
The Puducherry administration was optimistic about the viability of the project as Karaikal attracted 20 lakh pilgrims a year to the Sri Saneeswarar temple. Added to that was the town's proximity to the Nagore dargah, which is visited by Muslims from across the country and outside, besides Veilankanni Church, located a few km away from the site identified for the airport, said a senior official of the territorial administration.
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